Michael’s parents were in the kitchen fixing dinner. I asked if they needed any help, but they said no, so I rejoined Michael in the living room. I’d barely sat down when his phone rang.
He took out it out, checked the number and frowned.
I tensed. It was none of my business but I had to know. “Who is it?”
“My boss. Wonder what he wants?”
I immediately wondered the same thing. Surely he wouldn’t... No one would be that cruel on Christmas Eve.
“This is Michael. What’s up?”
“What?” His frown deepened, then disappeared and he looked happy, delighted actually, and began grinning from ear to ear. “Really? You have to be kidding. That’s fantastic. I thought for sure...” He hesitated, listening. “Yeah, thanks. I appreciate you letting me know. Big relief for all of us. So, thanks again for calling. And you have yourself a great Christmas, too.”
Still grinning like a fool, Michael closed his phone and put it away. “Well, isn’t that just the biggest and the best news? The merger I told you about is off and I still have my job. What do you think about that?”
“What happened? I thought it was pretty much a done deal.”
“Me, too.” He hugged me first and then Marmalade. “I don’t know all the details and neither does Bob, my boss. But it seems the buyers kept trying to lower the purchase price. Our people stood firm and refused to budge, so the other guys went back to their bankers for a credit increase, which triggered another check they didn’t pass. Apparently their debt load way exceeds their assets and potential earnings, and from the sound of things it’s all about to come crashing down. Bob said he’d heard rumors about them being investigated for tax evasion, unethical business practices, and being cash poor. But they say that about all the big companies. It never occurred to anyone until now the rumors might be true.”
“Can I take this to mean you’ll be moving in with me when you have to leave your place?” I wondered aloud.
“If you’ll still have me. I know I’ve been behaving badly, and I wouldn’t blame if you said no.”
“Of course I’ll still have you . No question. I said it was ours from the get go. You know better than to say something dumb like that.”
“True. But people change their minds all the time. I just didn’t want to presume.”
“Michael?”
“What?”
“Cut it out. I said yes. You want it in writing?”
Maggie suddenly appeared in the doorway, looking a little uncertain. “Are you boys fighting?”
“No.” Michael, his face a study in pure innocence, looked at me and back to his mother. “Absolutely not. Whatever gave you that idea?”
She smiled. “I thought I heard raised voices. Must have been my imagination. Come on. Dinner’s ready.”
* * *
It was midnight. Michael’s parents had just gone up to bed, and Marmalade was asleep in the corner of the sofa dreaming kitty dreams. It had been snowing on and off all evening and the garden was covered in the white stuff. Michael opened the living room window a crack, so we could hear the Christmas bells from a church somewhere in the distance.
I missed my family in Canada, but Michael and Marmalade were my family now. I leaned back in my chair. I’d never felt quite so content or as happy as I did at that moment.
“Happy Christmas, my love.” Michael came and sat on my lap, put his arms around me and kissed me. One of those long lingering kisses that involve a lot of tongue, feeling one another up and then the really good stuff that made me glad his parents were safely in their bed.
When we broke apart, he handed me a small box wrapped in Christmas paper and tied with a pretty red bow. “This is for you.”
“What is it? I thought we weren’t doing gifts until tomorrow.”
“We’re not. This is just between you and me. Something private and special. Open it.”
I did as instructed and inside the box, nestled on a bed of white tissue, lay a gold name bracelet with the inscription Michael+Drew=Forever.
My chest tightened, my eyes got blurry, and how I held back the tears I’ll never know. Michael had obviously bought this while his job was still in jeopardy. He knew I’d been feeling unsure about us, so he’d gone the extra mile and done this. Something special to prove his commitment to me was real. Yes, he could be aggravating and annoying at times, but I couldn’t believe I’d doubted that commitment for even one second. “This is so beautiful,” I whispered. “I love it.”
A lone tear escaped and ran down my cheek. Michael caught it with his tongue. “And I love you.”
I looked up and captured his gaze, losing myself in the love that glowed in his soft grey eyes. “I love you, too. Forever.”
Christiane France
One half of Christiane exists within the black and white parameters of corporate law where she spent most of her working life and learned the wisdom of always checking and double-checking the facts. The other half, the romantic dreamer, is still wondering if she should have accepted that invitation to dinner from a sexy Italian guy she met on the train from Naples to Rome. And what about the Frenchman who snagged her gaze across a crowded room and just wouldn’t let go?
When asked where she gets the ideas for her stories the answer is simple. A brief encounter, a spoonful of what if, plus a pinch of imagination, and hey, voila!
Christiane has been writing romance for the past twenty years. She truly believes that love makes the world go round and enjoys stories with both happy and bittersweet endings. Some of her stories have a little murder and mayhem while others have a touch of the paranormal, such as the ghost stories she co-wrote with KC Kendricks. Christiane and KC also teamed up under the name Parker Linn to produce five adventures in the life of a male escort.
Christiane lives in the Niagara Peninsula with her two Persian cats. When she’s not writing or thinking up new plots, she loves to cook.
* * *
ALSO BY CHRISTIANE FRANCE
A Happy Christmas Ending
A Little Bit Of Country
A Moment Of Madness
A Taste Of Honey
And The Cat Came Back
Anything You Can Do
Bad Boys Blues
Blame It On Fate
Blues In The Night
Chance Encounter
Ciao, Ciao, Bambina
Crossing The Line
Double Delicious
Fast Forward
Finding The Truth
French Twist
Getting Real
I'm Sorry
Independence Day
Inseparable
It's Complicated
Just One Look
Like A Moth To The Flame
Looking For Answers
Love Matters
Missing, But Not Dead
Missing, Presumed Dead
No One's Perfect
Oh, George
Oh, What A Knight
On Days Like These
Once Upon A Secret
One Perfect Night
Paris Heat
Proud Mary
Raindrops And Roses
Reincarnation
Rising Damp
Sabotage
Simply Irresistible
Some Place Only We Know
Something To Talk About
Still Missing
Strangers In The Night
The Butterfly Girl
The Club At Cool Harbor
The Cop And The Drifter
The Gallery On Main Street
The Ghost Makes Three
The Ghost Wore Denim
The Impossible Dream
The Replacement
The Rivals
This Time For Keeps
Time Shift
Some of these titles maybe currently unavailable. For further information go to: www.chrisgrover.ca and http://christianefrance.blogspot.ca/
y Christmas Ending
A Happy Christmas Ending Page 5
